A rather nifty All Birthdays Edition today...

Southside Johnny, third LP cover, Oct. 1978. (Courtesy of Epic/CBS Records)
Southside Johnny, third LP "Hearts Of Stone" cover, Oct. 1978. (Courtesy of Epic/CBS Records)
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12/4/1944 - Born on this date, drummer and vocalist Dennis Wilson, co-founder of The Beach Boys and middle brother to Brian and Carl -- Even though it didn't sell many copies at the time of its release, Dennis' only solo album, 1977's "Pacific Ocean Blue", has gone on to become highly regarded as a beautifully constructed masterpiece on par with any other Beach Boys record that has attained classic status, it really is terrific and soulful and well worth looking into -- Often cited as the only member of the band that actually knew how to surf, Dennis tragically drowned while swimming from his boat moored in Marina Del Ray, California, on December 28, 1983, after a day of heavy drinking. He was 39 years old.

12/4/1948 - Born on this date, John Lyon, "The Grandfather of The New Jersey Sound" (and, according to Jon Bon Jovi, the reason he started singing), Happy Birthday to the one and only Southside Johnny, 71 years old today. With The Asbury Jukes, there are (at least) two albums that are must-have's: 1977's "This Time It's For Real" and 1978's "Hearts Of Stone", both prominently featuring songs written for them by Bruce Springsteen and Steven Van Zandt -- Killer stuff, these records do not disappoint. At all.

12/4/1951 - Happy Birthday to under-appreciated guitarist and songwriter Gary Rossington, founding member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, 68 years old today -- Gary's actually the only original member still with the band, and he co-wrote some of their most enduring work: "What's Your Name", "Sweet Home Alabama", "Don't Ask Me No Questions", "Gimme Back My Bullets" and "One More Time", plus there's that really cool first Rossington-Collins Band LP -- Gary's suffered some unspecified "medical emergencies" (including a heart attack four years ago) that have forced him to take some much overdue time off the road, so send some good thoughts his way...

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"And you cry because things get so strange so fast...", xoxo!

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